Our reader's new rooster is a hero with a flaw. Handsome, brave, hawk-fighting, friendly, the guy sounds like a feathered action star. And yet, eight hens have gone on a collective egg strike. That's not a coincidence. It's a clucking mystery with a very egg-citing suspect.
The old rooster, a five-year-old Barred Rock with a bum foot, had the flock under a calm, predictable regime. Then the new boy showed up, and while the two roosters get along surprisingly well, the hens are clearly not on board. You mention he's "harassing the ladies more than our old guy," and that's the missing piece. Roosters don't just strut and crow, they manage the flock's social order. A young, energetic newcomer who's overly enthusiastic in his courtship can stress out the hens. And stressed hens stop laying. The temperature is hovering in the forties and fifties, and while cold can slow production, it rarely shuts it down completely. Eight birds producing zero eggs for weeks points straight at the rooster, not the thermometer.
So what do you do? You don't have to get rid of him outright. He's proven himself useful against hawks, and he's friendly enough with the family. But you do need to intervene. The simplest fix is to separate him from the hens for a few weeks. Put him in a separate pen or give the ladies a break while the old rooster keeps watch. Let the flock's social structure settle back to normal. If eggs return, you'll know the new boy was the culprit. Then you can decide if he gets to stay, maybe as a bachelor rooster on his own turf until he learns to tone it down.
Our take? This isn't a fowl play situation where you have to pick sides. You've got a defensive asset with a dating problem. Give the hens a vacation from his advances, let the old rooster resume his gentle rule, and see if the eggs come back. If they do, you can reintroduce the new guy slowly, watching how he behaves. If he can't keep his beak to himself, he may need to find a new home. But don't panic, and don't let a good hawk-fighter fly away just because he's a bad boyfriend.